Careful, Boy Careful
by foggynite
Summary: [PRNS] Part three of the Nightworld AU, following Tilling My Own Grave and All Of This Past. HunterCam, BlakeTori. Sometimes it’s hard to come back again, but once you’re there...
1. we are wounded too

Careful, Boy. Careful.

By foggynite

Fandom: Power Rangers Ninja Storm

Pairing: Cam/Hunter, Blake/Tori

Summary: Part three of the Nightworld AU. Sometimes it's hard to come back again, but once you're there…

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own PRNS, nor do I make any claim on them. I'm just a poor student.

* * *

"We're twenty minutes out, C," Shane's voice murmured in his ear. Adjusting his earpiece, Cam called up the city map on his monitor. Three blinking lights, all primary colors, were proof that his tracking spell worked.

"I'll be sure to leave the porch light on." Not his best rejoinder, but he was tired.

Suppressing a yawn, Cam tried to stretch in the padded computer chair. The rangers had interrupted three muggings, two robberies, and an attempted rape, all involving nightworld citizens, in one night, and he still had to finish the reports when they got back to base. Either the nightworld population had skyrocketed in Blue Bay Harbor during the past month, or there was a new spell out there that completely blew away all laws of probability. Looking over his incident statistics for the past two weeks, Cam was willing to bet Lothor was recruiting from other cities and shipping thugs in.

That thought made him nervous. Considering the numbers the rangers were reporting from their patrols, there would soon be enough of Lothor's people in the city to constitute a small army. Three rookie rangers, one back-up tactician, and a guinea pig were all that stood in Lothor's way.

Cam rolled away from the tracking screen with a sigh and started going through the back logs on another computer. An absent sip from his mug made him spit the stale, cold coffee back out.

"Just great." He set the mug aside in disgust and turned to another monitor screen. He was in the middle of finishing an old report when a warning from the alley ward shot across his skin.

A glance at the tracking screen had the rangers on the other side of the city, so he switched to the security monitors. Someone knocked heavily on the back door three times, the sound reverberating through the basement. An eyebrow went up. He shouldn't have been able to hear that with the wards.

A flicker of movement on the security monitor showed two figures, the taller one pacing roughly in front of the door while the smaller one was on the other side of the alley, slumped between the concrete wall and the end of the dumpster where Shane usually parked. The first person was obviously agitated and pounded on the door again, noise from upstairs matching the events on the screen as navy blue light crackled from his hand.

"We have company?" His father asked dryly, appearing out of the tubing network running through the dojo airducts.

"Looks like, and I have a fair idea who it is." With a sigh, Cam stood. He didn't want to deal with the Bradley brothers again. Not now, not ever. Especially when he was half-exhausted.

But he climbed the stairs with heavy feet, unable to turn anyone away if they were a nightworlder requesting ranger aide or shelter. There was a back storage room in the dojo that doubled as a hostel when needed, but he really didn't want the two of them in the dojo, let alone staying for any length of time.

His father had, on occasion, pointed out that he had a tendency to hold grudges. Cam usually just snorted and replied, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Trying to kill his only surviving family member? Not so much with the sympathy here.

He waited to open the heavy side door until the basement wards sealed behind him, twice as strong as when the brothers had first invaded. At least they had shown Cam and his father the weaknesses in their defense grid.

Cam put on his most severe expression. "Can I help you?"

Pausing mid-step, Blake just stared wild-eyed at him for a moment, like he hadn't really expected them to answer. At least he didn't even try to come in first before he spoke.

"Uh, Cam? Hi." He ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah. We—we need some help here, man."

"And I should trust you because…?" Cam asked, which he thought was quite reasonable on his part.

"Look, I know there's some bad blood here," the younger Bradley said quickly, hands up in a placating motion. His fingers were shaking. "I know, dude. And please believe me when I say that we'd really like to make up for it if you'd let us. But right now, we don't have time to get into this." Blake craned his neck so he could watch Hunter and Cam at once. "He's sick. Like, really, really sick and I don't know what to do. You guys are about the only place we can go where we know Lothor doesn't have someone waiting, and Cam, please, he's really sick. Please believe me, I'm not lying here. I'll swear on anything you want me to, I'll take a blood oath, make a pact, whatever you want, just help him."

The whole thing could be a set-up. The last time he had an injured Bradley in the dojo, Blake had no trouble taking advantage of his injuries to find out about their ward system. Who knew if they were after anything now, but Hunter was almost doubled over, hunched next to the dumpster, and Cam didn't think he was faking. For one, he was being unnaturally quiet. Not even shaky breaths. And Blake was obviously in a state of honest panic.

Pinning the younger Bradley with an assessing gaze, Cam deliberated for a moment then nodded. No need to think they were getting in on anything but Cam's good graces.

"Bring him in, then." There was no way in hell was he going out into the alley alone to help them, real illness or not. They could drag each other in if they wanted. "We have a cot in the back."

"Thanks, man." Blake hurried to his brother's side. "Hunter. Bro. Hunter. C'mon man, we need to walk."

Hunter barely responded to Blake's words or touch. The elder Bradley seemed disoriented, eyes unfocused and blonde hair plastered to his forehead. There was a slick sheen of something on his skin that Cam couldn't identify. Worry of possible contaminants, various spells for exuding poison through one's body to kill many people at once, came to mind, and Cam ground his teeth. He didn't like this at all.

Slinging Hunter's arm over his shoulders, Blake staggered across the alley and through the open door. He was visibly relieved when Cam activated the wards behind them.

Motioning to the back room, Cam kept his distance. He certainly wasn't going to place himself in a vulnerable position with two possible enemies. Then he realized Hunter was sweating blood through his pores, and his first thoughts were of the Black Plague, then he was ushering them quickly into the room.

"Lay him on that bed," he pointed to the nearest one while he retrieved the first aid kit from the kitchen. "Has he mentioned any symptoms? Told you anything about what's wrong?"

Hunter was just lying on the cot, eyes closed. Even from just the few times they had spoken, Cam could tell something was seriously wrong.

"He never complains about his health," Blake said with quiet frustration from his crouch beside the bed. "I didn't realize something was wrong until yesterday, when he doubled over, holding his stomach. I teleported him to the nearest apothecary, but… that didn't exactly go well." Blake looked up at Cam solemnly. "Lothor's put a price on us. He didn't specify how we're supposed to be brought in, either."

Burying the stab of sympathy he felt for them at that, Cam took Hunter's temperature with an ear thermometer. 107. Lamias usually ranged from 101 to 102. With a frown of concentration, he set one of the healing crystals on Hunter's chest, trying to sense where the imbalance in his body was. It wasn't difficult to find.

It felt like the cells of his body were dying, like all the little platelets and hemoglobin were shriveling up, leaving every body part parched and aching. If it continued for much longer, his organs would fail and there would be nothing for Cam to do. But he still didn't know why it was happening. Poison? He couldn't detect any foreign particles in Hunter's system. A death spell? But there weren't any bindings on his chi that Cam could feel. The pain was worse in Hunter's stomach and kidneys. Maybe something he ingested?

"When was the last time he ate or drank anything?" He demanded, opening his eyes in time to catch Blake's guilty expression at the question before the younger man looked away.

"He kept saying he wasn't hungry, and he was drinking lots of water. I just didn't think about it. I mean, I haven't seen him eat in the week and a half since we left, and I thought he was okay." The self-deprecation was evident, but Cam didn't have time to give hollow platitudes.

A week and a half was a long time, even for a lamia. Frowning, Cam wiped Hunter's brow with a gauze pad, peering at the blood soaked up.

"I need to get my father," he muttered. Staring at the pad, Blake looked like he was going to be ill.

"I am here, Cameron," the elder Watanabe said calmly from the foot of the bed. "And I believe I know the cause of his condition. His energies are very different from his last visit."

That declaration made Cam pause before he realized his father was referring to the attack and not the times Hunter dropped in for information before then. He could feel his cheeks flush.

At his father's confidence, Blake's expression lit up hopefully, but was quickly stifled with the next question.

"When was the last time he consumed blood?"

"I don't know," Blake said, the full implications sinking in. "I mean, Lothor had some at the hotel for him, but I don't think he's drunk any for a month or so? Not that I've seen." The younger man looked frustrated, with himself or his brother, though, Cam wasn't sure. "We argued about it when we first got here, so I don't know. It was a sore subject."

Gently, his father hopped onto the bedspread and padded up to rest on his haunches next to Hunter's blonde hair.

"Hunter?" He asked softly. When he received no response from the lamia, he laid his tiny paw on Hunter's temple. Blake looked at Cam questioningly, but Cam just shrugged. After a moment, his father withdrew and sat back, hands folded in his lap.

"I am afraid we shall require a bottle from the fridge, Cameron."

Nodding, Cam quickly went to the kitchen and opened the compartment at the bottom of the refrigerator, pulling out a twelve ounce bottle of pig's blood from the stock they kept on hand for itinerant vampires.

When he returned to the room, the elder Watanabe was speaking softly to Blake.

"We can only hope to ease his pain, but we cannot fully abate it. The best thing for you to do now is to make him as comfortable as possible."

Soaking a pad of gauze with the blood, Cam carefully dabbed it at Hunter's chapped lips, ignoring the conflicting emotions in his chest. He didn't have time to think.

The effect of the blood on the elder Bradley was almost instantaneous, his eyes opening but remaining unfocused, nostrils flaring as he grabbed Cam's wrist in a steel grip. Wary of having his hand mistaken as the source, Cam didn't struggle, but he did fumble for a bigger piece of gauze in the first aid kit with his free hand and soaked that through. When he offered it to Hunter, the blonde eagerly latched onto it with his teeth, eyes reflexively sinking shut. Cam tried not to freak, but this was definitely closer to a feeding lamia than he had ever wanted to be.

After a moment, Hunter started moving restlessly, pulling away from Cam and trying to sit up. Cautiously, Cam laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Hunter stilled.

Blake scooted closer to the other edge, touching Hunter's arm. "It's all right. We're safe, bro."

Some clarity seemed to return to Hunter at Blake's voice, and he spit the gauze out with a grimace. He was still shivering, enough to shake the bed. Cam dragged a spare blanket over and covered him. Hunter stared up at him for a moment.

"Cam?" His voice was gravelly, inhuman but also dry and weak.

"Hi." Cam said shortly.

Hunter's head lolled to the side, looking for Blake.

"Wha--?"

"We're at the Watanabe dojo," Blake explained. "It was the only place to go."

His eyes drifting shut, Hunter didn't respond. A shudder racked his lean frame.

"Your body is returning to its natural state," the elder Watanabe explained from his position next to Hunter's head. "You and your brother may remain here while you recover."

Unsealing the bottle cap again, Cam motioned to Hunter, who had focused on the smell immediately.

"If we sat you up, do you think you could hold some down?" He knew from experience that vomited blood was extremely unpleasant for everyone involved.

"Yeah," Hunter rasped, and winced when Blake supported his shoulders so he could sip from the plastic cup Cam held to his lips. Another tremor ran through the lamia's body and he tried to curl into the fetal position, narrowly missing the half-full cup. Blake looked to Cam helplessly when his brother convulsed again, and the two lowered Hunter back onto the bed. The more blood Hunter drank, though, the deeper his breathing was, and Cam didn't know if that was a good sign or not. It was all fairly frightening.

"Perhaps a cool cloth might help, Cameron?" His father suggested quietly, still next to the elder Bradley's pillow. Swallowing tightly, Cam nodded and went over to the kitchen sink, soaking a set of hand towels.

"Here," he said quietly as he handed one to Blake. The younger Bradley gently laid it on Hunter's forehead, and for the first time, the blonde allowed a groan to escape. He stopped breathing again, but he also seemed to slip into a shallow state of rest. If his condition had been progressing for days or weeks, then he was probably exhausted.

There wasn't anything more he could help with, so Cam prepared to withdraw from the room. He was familiar enough with Hunter's personality to know that he wouldn't appreciate an audience. He started gathering the unneeded medical supplies, but Blake's words made him pause.

"I don't get it," the brunette murmured. "I thought cow's blood wasn't that strong."

That was something for his father to answer, and Cam looked to the guinea pig for a response. The elder Watanabe's pause was audible.

"Blake," his father finally said gravely. "I'm afraid a reaction this-- strong is not caused by any animal's blood."

What little color left drained from Blake's stricken face. His voice was barely more than a whisper. "Oh man. Oh, no way. He's gonna freak."

"Most likely, it suited Lothor's plan to have your brother as strong as possible. While animal's blood does enhance the powers of the lamia, it lacks the properties to bond as completely with their cells."

Blake stared down at his brother's still form and Cam pressed his lips together to keep from saying something inane. Empty reassurances weren't going to do them any good, and really, how trusting were these two? They just blindly believed everything Lothor told them and ate whatever he put in front of them. They needed a keeper, because they obviously couldn't be left on the streets to their own devices.

Snapping the first aid kit shut, Cam stood quickly. Briskly, he quietly told Blake, "You can stay in here for now. Upstairs and downstairs are off limits, but you can use the dojo kitchen. No visitors and curfew's at ten. The dojo opens at seven, so keep that in mind and stay out of sight." He took in Blake's torn jeans and dirty jacket. Hunter's clothes were beginning to stain red. "Make sure you keep the door closed, just in case any customers come back here. There's a shower in the bathroom," he motioned to a small door on the other side of the room. "If you want to get cleaned up—"

His earpiece beeped, interrupting with Dustin's voice, "Dude, is everything cool on your end? There's some weird power sigs out here."

Turning away from Blake and tapping his earpiece, Cam said through gritted teeth, "Everything's fine, guys. Just get in here and finish your reports. We have guests in the extra room. Try not to kill them by accident."

"Guests?" Tori's voiced chimed in, but she didn't ask any further questions. Cam still wasn't sure how secure the wireless communicators were, but they were more reliable than the cell phones.

The alley door opened, wards tingling yet not going on alert, and Cam met the three rangers in the kitchen. After checking to make sure Hunter was still asleep, Blake followed him.

"What's he doing here?" Was Shane's first reaction, the lead ranger dropping into a defensive stance.

"He's one of our guests," Cam said in what he hoped was a quelling tone. Shane didn't look happy, but he relaxed into a less obviously aggressive position. Cam waited until the younger man looked away from his gaze before he continued speaking. "Blake and Hunter will be staying with us for a few days."

"So where's the other one?" Shane demanded, glaring past Cam at Blake.

The younger Bradley kept slouching in the doorway, but he responded softly, "Hunter's sick."

Shane made a derisive noise, but Tori stepped forward with genuine concern. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Blake gave her a wan imitation of his usual charming smile. "Nah, we got it covered. But thanks."

"Anytime," Tori said quietly.

Cam resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and derailed any further discussions by raising his arms. "All right. It's been a long night for everyone. Rangers, downstairs. Blake, I'm sure my father can show you where the supplies are if you need anything."

The obvious dismissal worked, because the group broke up. Shane thumped down the stairs, and Blake grinned at Tori as she passed, but turned to Cam. "We're good for now, man. Thanks."

The last part wasn't just for towels and shampoo, but Cam just nodded at him and went down the basement stairs. Dustin murmured a greeting to Blake and thumped down behind Cam, while Tori lingered at the top of the stairs for a moment. That was a complication Cam didn't need, but she was a strong woman who could take care of herself. He just didn't have to like it.

Shane was obviously thinking the same thoughts, because he whirled around to scowl at Cam as soon as they hit the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you insane?" The ranger growled. "Or have you just forgotten what they tried to do last time they were in town?"

"No, Shane. I haven't forgotten," Cam said in clipped tones and stepped around the ranger to resume his seat at the computers.

"Hello, they were working for Lothor!" Shane yelled at his back.

Unbuckling his uniform, Dustin replied for him. "But they were totally lied to and everything. I mean, technically, Hunter saved us when he had the chance—"

"It could all be a plot to get us to trust them, or maybe, let them stay in our base of operations--"

"I think they're legit, dude. Their parents set them straight—"

"You though that werewolf was 'legit' too, before she tried to rip your head off—"

"Are you trying to say something?"

"Gee, Dustin, let me think—"

Cam tuned them out and called up the security grid for the dojo, focusing on the spare room. His father could ward rooms from the shrine under the basement stairs, but Cam was more technologically inclined for his own magic. This was a simple surveillance spell. If anyone entered or left the room, the computer would alert him through his communicator.

Tori came down the stairs, a bemused look on her face that quickly changed to a frown as Shane glowered at her.

"Do you have to be so friendly with them?"

"Do you hear something, Dustin?" She said pleasantly. "We really should get the wards checked."

Dustin wisely said nothing. Cam, however, was reaching the end of his patience. He already had most of the night's reports written up, thanks to the new communicators, but he needed to make sure that there wasn't anything new to add before he sent them home.

"Reports?" He barked as he swiveled the chair to stare at them with a neutral expression. For a moment, Shane looked like he wanted to continue protesting, but the rangers finally settled next to the weapons table as they got out of uniform.

"Two of the muggings might have been kidnap attempts," Shane said in a brisk tone, all business. "And maybe the rape. Those were definitely Lothor's men. The one mugging was just a punk witch who used a memory hex, so the victim doesn't remember anything. We still made her give the guy his wallet back, though."

"I still think the robberies are connected," Tori interjected as she helped Dustin with his lacings. "Both gangs were going for the same types of equipment."

"That one dude was a general," Dustin said casually as he struggled with his tunic, pausing as everyone else stared at him. "What?"

"Which general?" Cam asked as he turned to the ranger database. "How did you recognize him?"

"He was in that file you made us all read. Anthrax, anthill, something like that. The dude who can transform into a lizard or something."

Cam blinked. "You actually read something I gave you? Wait, never mind that. A lizard? Vexacus, maybe?"

"Yeah, that's it," Dustin agreed happily. "He was at the first store. Just kinda stood there and let us thrash his guys. Lothor really doesn't care about his thugs, does he?"

Cam's stomach sank. If Dustin was correct, and he probably was for all that he seemed like a space-case, then that meant that both Zurgane and Vexacus were in Blue Bay Harbor. The top two generals in Lothor's outfit, and they hated each other passionately, which meant they were probably here under higher orders.

He stared at the long list of Vexacus' crimes from the database, and just felt so amazingly tired. They were screwed.

"Anything else?" He snapped, head pounding.

The rangers exchanged glances and shrugged at each other. Shane spoke up, "I think we gave you everything earlier. You still want us to check out the docks tomorrow?"

Cam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me make a few phone calls first. Some people owe me favors."

"All right." The subdued tone was out of character for Shane, but when Cam turned to look at the rangers, they were all busy with their uniforms and avoiding eye contact.

With a triumphant smile, Dustin held up his staff. "Hey, look what I brought home in one piece!"

Cam's eye started twitching all on its own. "Thank you, Dustin. Let's try to keep that up in the future, hm?"

The younger man just grinned and bobbed his head. Shane and Tori added their weapons to the table, and soon they were standing in their street clothes. They exchanged glances with each other, which made Cam lean back in his chair and cross his arms over his chest.

"We're gonna head out now," Shane announced unnecessarily. "Maybe catch a few extra Zs tonight."

"Yeah," Dustin chimed in. "I know I've been totally missing sleep, man."

"Maybe you should call it an early night, too, Cam," Tori said innocently. "Consider it, like, a mini-vacation or something. Dustin could cover your morning class for you, so you could even sleep in. If you wanted to, I mean."

"I could?" Dustin asked, then winced as Tori stepped on his foot. "Oh yeah, I totally could, dude. No problem."

Cam peered at them, unamused, until they started to squirm.

"I don't take vacations, mini or otherwise," he finally said severely, and spun his chair back around to call up the night's reports. "Report at seven tomorrow."

A series of assents echoed as the rangers gathered their civilian gear and shuffled out. Cam stared at the computer screen for a moment, telling himself not to bother caring. He was fine. He could do his job. What, did they think he wasn't capable now? Bad enough his father wouldn't let him out in the field, but now the rangers were doubting him too?

"They are only concerned for you, son," his father stated from above him on the monitors. It was an eerie habit his dad had, creeping around and responding to things Cam was thinking. An image of his father with a cat bell on crossed his mind.

"I'm fine, Dad," Cam said in much of the same tone he used on the rangers, but it had never worked on his father.

"You push yourself very hard, and have exacting standards. It is all right to admit you are merely human."

"Well, considering I'm a warlock, I'm not very human, now am I?" Cam snapped and started typing furiously. After a moment, his father hopped back to the air duct.

"I am retiring for the night, Cameron. Perhaps you should do the same?" A subtle reprimand that Cam ignored as he gave a careless wave.

Once he felt his father move further up into the dojo to their living quarters, his typing stuttered to a halt and he just stared blankly at the screen. He'd love to be able to sleep in. He'd love to be able to take a vacation. But he couldn't afford to, just like he couldn't afford to let his guard down again. He wouldn't put his father in danger again.

The thought of their unwanted guests upstairs churned his stomach. He hated the part of himself that felt a frisson of excitement at having Hunter around again. Even after everything the man did to his family, the blood addiction he had to kick, the bleeding from his pores thing he had going on—Even then, Cam still thought he was attractive. Still looked forward to the arguments they were sure to have.

"Maybe I do need a vacation," he whispered to the empty room.

* * *

TBC...

Gentlemen our faith is wounded  
And yes, we are wounded too  
They've come out from the swamp  
But we, we stand on both legs  
Finch "Worms of the Earth"


	2. the war will roll

Careful, Boy. Careful.  
By foggynite  
Fandom: Power Rangers Ninja Storm  
Pairing: Cam/Hunter (finally), Blake/Tori  
Summary: Part three of the Nightworld AU. Sometimes it's hard to come back again, but once you're there…

* * *

During his afternoon break the next day, Cam slipped out of the dojo and went to one of the lesser-known nightworld havens in the city. A few pointed questions later, he had a better idea about what was going on. And it wasn't pretty, but then, when was life ever?

"Woah," Blake said from the kitchen when Cam returned.

"What?" He snapped irritably.

Running his hands through his hair to loosen the heavily-gelled spikes, Cam ignored the slow painful thud in his temples. His leather pants creaked when he moved, and he hated-- _hated_-- playing all the head games their little society demanded with his entire being.

"I just didn't expect you--"

Blake wisely chose not to finish his sentence, but waved his free hand, still clutching a bottle of blood in the other. Cam glared harder. There was no way he was going to tell Blake that he had just been to see an informant, reformed agent of Lothor or not. Instead, he shrugged out of his trench coat and hung it near the door.

"How's Hunter?" He asked in a more civil tone.

Frowning, Blake looked towards the bedroom.

"Better than he was yesterday, for sure. He's woken up to feed a few times, but that's about it. Sensei said it was normal."

Cam wasn't sure he liked his father being referred to in such a familiar manner by someone who'd recently tried to kill him, but he let it slide. He even unbent enough to offer assistance. They _were_ still under ranger protection, and when Hunter awoke, Cam would have to give the already demoralized brothers more bad news, this time about Sensei Omino.

"If you need anything, just let me know. I put in an order at our local supplier," he added with a nod towards the fridge. "They should deliver tomorrow."

His tone was grudging at best, but Blake genuinely smiled in return.

"Thanks." Absently passing the bottle from hand to hand, the younger man cleared his throat. "I know that letting us back in here was probably the last thing you wanted to do, but seriously. We owe you, and we always repay our debts. So if there's anything we can do…"

Studying Blake for a moment, Cam finally grinned wryly.

"You can start by making sure your brother stops bleeding all over my furniture."

"Will do," Blake laughed and headed back into the spare room after only a slight hesitation.

Sighing once the other man was out of sight, Cam stretched his arms and realized he was still in his ridiculous goth get-up when his buckled shirt restricted the movement. He gave his reflection a half-hearted look of disdain as he passed the hall mirror on his way down to ranger ops.

If he was lucky, he would still have time for dinner before his next class.

* * *

His last class of the night ended up going beyond the official hour, since Cam had been so intent on maintaining his focus on his students that he forgot to watch the clock. The shiver of the alley door wards across his skin snapped him out of it, though, and he quickly closed up the front of the dojo after ushering the last of his students out. He could tell the rangers were already waiting in ops when he finished, but he stopped to check in on their guests before he went down.

Pausing in the doorway, he arched an eyebrow at the uncomfortable looking angle Blake had slumped into at Hunter's bedside. Hunter himself was looking better, bloody sweat gone and color in his cheeks, but he still wasn't breathing in his sleep, which implied more a state of recuperative hibernation than normal rest.

Cam had a split-second of warning before Blake's eyes snapped open to stare unblinking at Cam's backlit form. Cam didn't move until the warning crackle of electricity faded and Blake actually woke up. The room was warded, so little harm could come to anyone in it from magic, but it was only polite not to throw that in people's faces.

Giving an apologetic wave, Cam said quietly, "You can help yourself to the leftovers in the fridge, if you're hungry. I'll be downstairs for the rest of the night."

Blake nodded, scrubbing at his face.

"Thanks."

"Hn."

Once down in the basement, Cam regretted waking him up because Blake's going in and out of the room was starting to get on his nerves as the surveillance spell kept getting triggered. His father was saying something wise and deep about knowing one's self and one's limits, and choosing the proper time to fight, but Cam zoned out, staring at his monitor.

"Cam?"

Gritting his teeth as his communicator beeped _again_, Cam tried to focus on the tasks at hand.

"Yo, Cam?" Shane repeated, obviously irritated. "Are we supposed to go to the docks tonight or what?"

Regrouping, Cam rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes. I want the three of you to patrol together tonight. No splitting off. Check in every hour, report any new developments immediately. If you see Zurgane or Vexacus, hold off on engaging them and follow their movements instead."

"You seriously want us to just sit back and watch them take out innocent people?" Shane demanded incredulously. His father's speech must not have sunk in.

Cam narrowed his eyes. "It's the only way we're going to find out where they've taken all the _other_ innocent people they've pulled off the streets."

"Yeah, whatever," the team leader grumbled as he headed for the stairs. "C'mon, guys."

Dustin trailed after him with a shrug, and Tori gave Cam a resigned look before following. Cam was fairly certain the only reason Shane wasn't openly cursing him was because the communicators were kept live the entire time the rangers patrolled so they could converse easily even if their hands were occupied. Cam often did the same thing when he was alone in ops, but he switched it on and off when his father was around.

Cam let out a deep breath.

The tension between him and Shane had been growing, and it was something Cam had habitually downplayed, but his patience with the other man was running out lately. He didn't mean for it to be, but the fact that his father had chosen Shane as the team leader rubbed Cam the wrong way. So Cam ran the base operations, yet had to rely on Shane to keep a cool head and focus on what needed to be done rather than what he wanted to do out in the field. Because Cam _so_ enjoyed being stressed out over that on top of everything else.

Reaching into a desk drawer for one of his bloodstones, Cam debated expending the energy of casting a spell to relieve his aching neck and head, versus just taking a painkiller. He pulled his ibuprofen out of the drawer instead and forlornly contemplated the empty bottom of the bottle.

"I fear you have been relying heavily on those, son," his father said from his perch above the computer desk. Cam had almost forgotten the man was there, but at least he didn't embarrass himself by jumping. Instead he casually silenced the transmitter on his comm.

"No more so than usual," he replied and pitched the bottle towards the recycling bin. Leaning back in his computer chair, he looked up. "How's the new system working out? I noticed you've replaced quite a few files now."

His father acknowledged the change of topic with a consternated expression, but responded, "It is far more comfortable and efficient for me than attempting to use a computer. Thank you."

In a desperate attempt to save his own computers from his father's well-meaning interference, Cam had shown him how to create documents on a palm pilot and had been left in peace ever since.

"Good," he said absently and resumed cross-referencing reports while he waited for the rangers to check in. Their occasional comments would draw his attention, but he tuned them out once he realized it was just banter. The random pinging from the spare room security was beginning to distract him, though.

Having to rebuild their destroyed database from memory and imported Council files was another black mark Cam held against the Bradleys. After ops security had been compromised by the brothers breaking in, Cam had only had time to fry the computer hard drives before following the rangers to rescue his father. Which had actually been fortuitous in a way, since Lothor had invited himself past the broken wards and trashed anything that wasn't heavily sealed before he went to the Cave of Lost Spirits. Cam was realistic enough to know that he wouldn't have been strong enough to defend ops on his own at that point anyway, so he hadn't had other options.

It didn't make replacing everything any easier, though.

"We're at pier six," Shane reported quietly over the comm. "No sign of Lothor's goons yet."

"Keep an eye out," Cam said, mostly to acknowledge their check in. The wards upstairs chimed in his ear again and he glared at his monitor. He was tempted to just turn the alerts off, but if Blake knew anything about wards, he'd be able to sense it and Cam didn't want them to think they were being trusted even that much.

"Hey, I've got some movement on my side," Dustin whispered excitedly, and Cam snapped to attention. "Black limo just pulled up. Big guy getting out. Looks like a bodyguard? I think he's a shifter. Huh. That's weird…"

Dustin grew silent and Cam frowned.

"Dudes. It's Marah. But I think she's alone. She's getting out and walking--"

"I see her now," Tori confirmed. "By the goddess, someone needs to teach that girl how to dress herself."

Cam rolled his eyes. "Is she doing anything?"

"Other than being a fashion victim? Not that I can tell. She's just standing by the trunk of the limo. Might be waiting for someone?"

The spare room ward pinged again. With a twitch, Cam stood up.

"Let me know if anything changes," he said and turned his transmitter off.

"Is there a problem, Cameron?" His father asked when Cam started up the stairs.

"I just have to have a word with our guests, then I'll be back," he replied grimly.

Blake triggered the ward again as Cam stepped out of the basement, and paused when he saw Cam's expression. His arms were full of dirty bed sheets.

"Hey," he said. "I found the washer."

Cam kept frowning and waved at the doorway.

"Is it really necessary?"

"Have you ever lived with a lamia before?" Blake joked.

"No, I can't say that I--" Cam cut himself off and tensed.

The security wards on the next building over had been triggered, a different feel along his skin than the ones on the dojo.

"What was that?" Blake asked in a wary voice, eyeing the door to the alley.

"Perimeter wards. Someone's using magic--"

The alarms were suddenly intense, strong enough to make his flesh _crawl_, and he shuddered.

That wasn't just one person using magic.

Cam was back down the stairs before he realized it, toggling his transmitter on.

"Guys, we may have a problem here," he said as he called up the security grid on his computer. "We have a major security breach."

"Want us to head back?" Shane responded immediately.

His father spoke up from above Cam's head, eyes closed as he reached out with his warlock senses. "That would be wise. I fear we are in great danger, Cameron."

The monitor was showing over thirty shifters and vampires converging on the alley. Marah had probably been a decoy.

Cam blinked.

"Yes," he snapped shortly into his communicator.

"On our way," Shane said, transmission crackling at the end as he started streaking.

The first blast of magic against the building wards reverberated through the basement. Cam called up the video feed. A roiling pink energy was throwing off enough glare to render the cameras useless.

"Lothor has sent Kapri this time," his father said, hopping off the computer desk to the floor. "Yet her energy is being modulated by an outside source. I will see what I can do from here, but--"

"I'll reinforce it," Cam completed the thought, already running back up the stairs.

Blake was crouched in a defensive position just outside the spare room, and Cam waved him out of the way when he tensed to move.

"Just stay back," Cam ordered, making sure the basement door sealed itself shut behind him.

He planted himself in front of the alley door, back to the small kitchen and Blake, and drew in a deep breath, searching for his center. The threads of the ward were still there, but they were deteriorating. The new layers his father had added to repair the last breach hadn't had time to completely integrate with the building's foundation yet, the weakness of which Kapri was taking full advantage.

The lights flickered out overhead, leaving only the glow of the wards to illuminate the room.

He could feel his father downstairs, pouring energy into the webs, but his father's powers were already depleted by the transformation spell on him and daily maintenance of security. Cam reached out with his own magic and tapped into the defense grid, closing his eyes against the flare of green energy crackling along the threads.

The attack from the other side paused briefly at the reinforcement, but quickly re-doubled in its intensity. Pain exploded behind Cam's eyes, searing agony that broke his concentration, and he felt his knees connect with the floor.

"Let me help," Blake said urgently from his elbow, helping him back up.

Pink light was seeping in through the edges of the door. Whatever Kapri had to amplify her powers was strong, but Cam wasn't about to let Blake into the weave of the new wards. If he did that now, then the other warlock would be another physical anchor for them like Cam and the rangers were, and would be able to deactivate them at his whim in the future.

"I've got it," Cam ground out, jaw clenched. He dredged up the reservoirs of his power, shaking off Blake's hand and **shoving** his magic forward against the incoming tide.

The clash of pink and green energy was suffocating, blanketing the areas on both sides of the door. Cam could feel flashes of energy from the alley, light blue and red and yellow, but they weren't getting close to Kapri. He just had to buy the rangers enough time--

He felt it before he realized what was happening, the sudden ebb of his father's power in the threads, and then it was just his own magic to support the failing ward.

"They're almost through," Blake said, frustration clear.

Cam gritted his teeth and kept pushing back until it felt like his lungs would burst. He wasn't even seeing the door anymore, just sensing it in the shape of the magic around it.

"Shit!" Blake cursed as the seals disintegrated and the ward collapsed.

Dazed, Cam willed himself to move as Blake stepped in front of him, meeting the first of the shifters through the door with a roundhouse kick to the face. But the invading tide didn't slow down, and the street gang scrambled in around Kapri and their fallen comrades.

Surging to his feet, Cam caught the arm of a vampire headed for the basement door, swinging the guy around in a simple hold that dislocated his shoulder with his own momentum. The vampire snarled and tried to hit Cam with his other arm, but Cam blocked it easily and sent him crashing into an oncoming wave of thugs.

It wasn't until Cam bumped into Blake's shoulder, the two of them standing back to back, that he realized they'd been surrounded in the tight quarters. He had been too out of it to prevent the tactical error.

"This doesn't look good," Blake said grimly as he fended off a snap kick from a vampire.

"You mean this isn't your idea of fun?" Cam shot back, nailing a shifter in the throat with his fist.

They could hear the rangers fighting outside, but they were too far away to help. Hopefully, the alley wards were still blocking the noise away from the outside world, otherwise surviving this would be for nothing if the Council decided they were a liability.

Cam lost himself in a flurry of instinctive movements-- Block, strike, parry, repeat-- He couldn't even see the door anymore, light blocked out by the press of bodies that was getting thicker. Apparently Lothor just planned on wearing them out until they had no more resistance left, but Cam wasn't--

Blake went down behind him, giving a sharp gasp as the air was pushed out of his lungs. Cam swung backwards before he even thought about it, blinking in surprise when his fist was caught by a clawed hand. He stared into yellow eyes and thought,

_Werewolf. Fuck._

Before the furry body was slammed back into the thick of Lothor's hired muscle at a speed that made Cam's heart skip a beat. The blur of movement continued straight into the gang, causing vampires and shifters alike to go airborne.

Hunter paused in the space he had cleared, perfectly still, eyes glowing greenish-gold in the darkness. Then he was a blur again, lashing out at anything that moved, and Cam tried not to panic, but there just wasn't any room to maneuver and Hunter--

Hunter was feral. He sped past Blake without any recognition in his eyes, clipping his brother in the side as Blake hurried to get out of his way. Cam turned until his back was to a wall, fighting off the gang members that still came at him, but they were focusing on Hunter as the biggest threat now.

Soon the only enemies left were a handful of thugs and the werewolf, whose clothes Cam dimly recognized as Zurgane's, but Hunter tore into them before Zurgane could even regain his feet. The thugs went down easily, and Hunter started pummeling the snarling werewolf, unintentionally driving Zurgane back towards the door to the alley, where the rangers were taking on Kapri and even more street thugs.

Cam staggered over to Blake, who was clutching his side and staring at his brother in concern.

"We need to calm him down," Cam shouted over the noise of fighting.

"How?" Blake asked.

"Has this happened before?"

"No!"

The helplessness in Blake's eyes made Cam's heart sink, but before they could continue, Kapri grabbed Zurgane's shoulder from the doorway and teleported out. The rangers were blocked from the door by a swarm of gang members who were starting another wave of invasion, and it looked like Hunter was going after them next, only Blake stepped forward, calling out his brother's name and--

Hunter was right in front of them, the path of his fist blocked by Cam's upward swing, but before Cam could recover, the lamia's other fist was hitting his gut and Cam rolled with the force of the punch to lessen the impact, landing on his back and twisting to his feet in time to see Blake try to pin Hunter's arms.

"Hunter! Snap out of it!"

Lothor's minions were filling the room again, but Cam only spared them a fleeting glance as a heave of Hunter's arms sent Blake flying into the fridge door.

Cam streaked in front of Hunter before he thought about it, placing himself between the brothers as he tried to grapple with the elder Bradley. He matched Hunter blow for blow, but Hunter caught him by the wrists, darting towards Cam's neck with fangs exposed, and Cam wrenched his elbow up in a block that effectively kept the teeth away but allowed Hunter to seize him by the throat, shoving him up against the wall.

Cam struck out blindly, keeping Hunter's mouth away, and the grip on his throat tightened, squeezed until black spots were swimming in Cam's vision. No matter how many pressure points Cam hit, how many soft spots, Hunter wasn't relenting.

Hunter's gaze was blank. He didn't know what he was doing.

--_That_ had Cam reaching up to Hunter's eyes, pressing his thumbs in as his hands splayed across Hunter's forehead. The blonde tried to shake him off with an inhuman growl, neck arching to get free, but the contact-- The feel of sweat-slick skin sliding under his fingertips, a spark of pure energy running up his arms, like electricity arcing through his veins--

The anger. _Need_. The drive to rip things apart, mouth watering for the coppery tang of blood--

A savage place, the roar of thunder, lightning bursting across the sky. Building into a frenzy, until something broke through, pushed out--

Snapped at the shifters and vampires closing in on them. Backhanded the intruders away in a crunch of bones and cartilage.

_My people. **Mine**._

Hunter's voice, but not in Cam's ears. Just like the knowledge was suddenly there, that the lamia in Hunter had claimed Cam as his, had included him in the circle of _family_ and _protect_ and _anger_.

And something in Cam gave with an audible crack. For a shocked moment, he thought it was his neck, but Hunter had released him to turn on the thugs around them.

No, it was the wards. His wards. The pieces of himself that he had put into the very foundation of the building, his awareness of every thread-- It was. Open now. Diffused, but not lightly. Not to everyone. Just. Tori, Shane, and Dustin, who had already been recognized by the ward magic but now were--

Hunter. Blake. These threads that were a part of himself were a part of them now, and the electricity in his veins pulsed, pushed into his skin like it was radiating from Hunter along a dozen wires running between them.

And Blake had blue light crackling along his arms, lighting up the room, casting everything in an eerie glow. The power flashed, surged outwards, and the wards snapped back into place like they were setting a broken bone.

Cam gasped at the pain, back arching as his vision whited out and all his muscles clenched, overwhelmed by the feel of Lothor's remaining minions being expelled from the building, the three rangers in the alley scattering out of the way--

He didn't fall, but just slowly slid down the wall, his hearing coming back with a high-pitched hum of power around him. He looked up and Hunter was slumped over him, shielding him and he wanted to say he didn't need to be. Cam could look after himself. He was-- Going to get up any minute. Once he could feel his limbs again, and--

Hunter's hands were cradling his face, holding his chin up. Cam blinked wearily into worried grey eyes and felt his own start to close.

_Cam._ Hunter's voice, in his head. Concern, anger, protectiveness, fear-- The emotions all surged around him, and he didn't know whose they were. His. Hunter's. They enveloped him, drew him into a soft cocoon, a place where it was just him and Hunter in the stillness at the eye of a storm.

_I'm tired_. He meant to say it aloud, but couldn't get his mouth to move.

_I know_.

The others were coming inside now. Shane. Dustin. Tori. Like a camera lens slowly focusing. Blake was staring at the wards in awe, the glowing threads like cobwebs over everything, but he was outside Cam's cocoon, fuzzy at the edges. Grainy like an old photograph, yet Cam still had this buzzing _awareness_ of them.

_Cam_, Tori's voice was in his head now, too. Anxious. Confused.

Hunter's fingers wrapped around the base of his skull, supported his head, while the other four team members gathered around them and Cam felt--

Safe.

He surrendered to his exhaustion.

* * *

To be concluded...

* * *

_ The time has to come to face this  
We all must bear witness  
The war will roll over and over and over again _

Finch Worms of the Earth


	3. dying in the sun

The crawl of the upstairs wards being disabled jolted Cam awake.

"Be calm, son," his father said from next to his pillow. "It is merely Blake returning to the dojo."

"What?" Cam rolled onto his elbows. He felt muzzy, bone-tired. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Eighteen hours," the elder Watanabe said gravely.

Alarmed, Cam sat up, looking around his darkened room as he tried to shake off his exhaustion. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"There were no pressing matters that warranted disturbing you, and you obviously needed the rest."

The flare of annoyance towards his father was sharp, habitual, and Cam didn't bother hiding it as he snapped, "Who ran the classes today, then? We can't afford to take a day off, Dad."

His father's response was as unruffled as always. "Tori was more than happy to teach your tae kwon do lessons, and Blake volunteered to cover the karate classes. While our customers were somewhat surprised, they expressed only concern for your health once the situation was explained."

Cam gritted his teeth. "I'm fine."

Before his father could say anything else, Cam pushed away from the bed and grabbed a sweatshirt from his desk chair. He had a room in the apartment above the dojo, but few of his things were actually in it, with most of his clothes and books tucked away in Ops. He slipped on his sneakers.

Tori covering his classes he could handle. She'd done it before. But Blake?

And how could he have wasted an entire day sleeping? There was too much to do, and who knew what the others had done to Ops while he was lazing around in bed. They'd been invaded just last night, but of course Cam wasn't needed at all today. Of course not.

Kapri had broken through their defenses, dammit. They still didn't know if their guests were friends or foes.

He wrenched the bedroom door open and stalked to his computers. At least there were no signs of the Bradley brothers down here, he thought viciously.

Accessing the ranger database, Cam paused, hands hovering over the keyboard. It wasn't the wards. It was just this nagging… awareness.

Hunter and Blake were in the spare room. Blake was talking to someone, and Hunter was--

Cam narrowed his eyes. Hunter was asleep.

He shouldn't have been able to tell that. He shouldn't have been able to know where they were without tapping into his magic or using his security cameras.

His father perched above him on the computer hutch. Cam stared at his monitor, then glanced up at the guinea pig without moving his head.

"What's going on?" Cam asked warily. Another observation clicked into place. "The rangers aren't using their communicators."

True enough, the comm channels were silent. His third computer was charmed to monitor and record communicator conversations, as well as police bands, when Cam was away from his desk, but the screen was dark.

"That is correct, Cameron." His father rested his paws on his belly, expression concerned. "I assume you are experiencing the side-effects from the destruction of the Gem of Souls as well?"

"Side-effects," Cam deadpanned, unease growing.

"When Hunter used the Gem to deflect Lothor's spell, it was damaged and shattered," Kanoi said gently. "The dissipating energy from its destruction was directed at the nearest living things--"

"The seven of us," Cam interrupted thoughtfully. "And since we all have some magic skills, we'd react to its power and --"

"A telepathic bond, of sorts, was created. Perhaps we should consider it a merging of souls, given the source."

Cam sat back in his chair, frowning at his computer. This was unexpected, and utterly like his father to wait until Cam said something before he started explaining. Merging? What the hell? He didn't feel different, but he also knew that Hunter was only dozing lightly the same way he knew his own stomach was empty. Was this a spell that they could turn off? Was he going to be tied to everyone else for his entire life?

Stop. Duty first.

"So the rangers are using this new telepathy in lieu of their communicators." He grasped at the first thought that came to mind. "Do we even know how far it can reach? How long it will last?"

"Quite far when one of the circle is in contact with a Gem shard," his father said, then hesitated. Cam gave him an impatient look and he continued. "I believe the first exposure to the Gem merely opened the six of you to the possibility of a connection, since it was also deflecting Lothor's spells. The circle wasn't closed until two members came into contact with a Gem shard while one simultaneously accessed his magic, which the shard then siphoned to provide the power to seal the bonds. The members being Hunter, whose powers are not technically magic, and you, a warlock."

Cam arched an eyebrow. So the wards reinstating themselves was him sharing his magic with the other five rangers. That explained some of his lingering exhaustion. It was either that, or he was still asleep. Or in a coma.

His father continued. "The Gem of Souls amplifies spiritual energy, so even a quarter of it can cause an unimaginable increase in the bearer's powers. Hunter kept a piece of the Gem for himself after giving us the remaining three shards. That is how he was able to survive without blood or food recently, and to defend the dojo last night. It's also how Kapri was able to break through our wards."

"Wait," Cam held up his hand. "Lothor has one of the shards? How is that possible? I put them in the ocean."

"We do not know, but we need to be on our guard even more, now."

Cam fell silent. This was not what he wanted to wake up to. Ever.

Briskly, he shut down the feelings of violation and rising panic in his chest again, pushing them aside as something to be dealt with later. He had to focus.

"You said the six of us," he finally said, looking up at his father.

"Yes. The energy from the Gem broke Lothor's confinement spell, but did not actually reach me."

"So you're not a part of this--" He waved his hand vaguely. Insanity was probably too light a term.

"No."

"And everyone else is--"

"We discussed the situation at some length earlier. They are adjusting."

Discussed it while Cam was asleep. How typical of his father to exclude him from ranger business, probably in the hopes that Cam wasn't involved in the mess.

On autopilot, Cam logged into the database while he thought, noting the rangers had actually typed up their own reports for the previous night. Wonders would never cease. There was an extra report, though, and he frowned when he realized it was Blake's.

"Where's the shard we have now, Dad?"

"Blake is using it to remain in communication with the rangers. He did not feel comfortable leaving Hunter unattended."

A memory of Hunter the night before surfaced. Feral, glowing eyes.

"Right," Cam said, tone deceptively mild. "So they almost kill us, then come to us for help and make themselves at home, and now we're treating them like they're rangers just because they have a Gem shard, which they apparently failed to mention when they handed over the rest?"

His father frowned down at him.

"They are rangers, Cameron. They may have misplaced their trust for a time, but they still follow the same code as we do."

"Or they could be attempting an even deeper infiltration," he retorted sharply.

The wards. Cam reached out to them lightly, just testing. The threads of himself were still there, but weak. They were overlaid by his father's golden tones. And Blake's deep blue.

Cam took a deep breath.

"How do we know we can trust them?" He asked in a feeble attempt at reason.

"Trust must be given, as well as earned."

"That's not exactly an answer, now is it? They were prepared to kill you, Dad. Or hand you over to Lothor! That's hardly an incentive to--"

_Cam?_

Blake's voice in his head. Cam shut his mouth abruptly, and thought a tentative, _Yes? _in Blake's direction.

_The rangers have hit some trouble. Vexacus is--_

Hunter awoke at the same time Blake cut off. Where Blake was bright flashes of lightning across dark skies, Hunter was sharp edges and roiling storm clouds, jagged bolts warning people off.

Cam could tell that they were arguing from the rising tension between them. Hunter was restless, joints aching but not like the terrible pain earlier. He was field ready. Blake didn't need to be hovering over him like he was an invalid--

Pulling his thoughts away, Cam blinked, coming back to himself. His pulse was racing. He'd just--

His father waited patiently. Cam sat up straight in his chair. Focus.

"Blake says the rangers are in trouble," he said, pulling up the tracking file.

Three primary color dots were clustered in the downtown area, near the warehouse district but closer to the financial blocks. Using his own technologically-inclined magic, Cam executed the command and smirked as grey dots appeared on the screen to mark any non-ranger presence.

_Woah. What did you just do?_

Hunter's voice, and Cam felt his hackles raise.

_A tracking spell. What did you think I'd be doing down here? Knitting?_ He sent back, mental voice short. So Hunter could tell when he used magic?

_Impatient much? We already know where the others are. _

He could feel Hunter's amusement and irritation, along with something else that he didn't look at too closely. Everything was too open right now--

Before Cam could formulate a response, Blake sent, _We're going to go lend a hand. If Hunter's up to it._

_Of course I am._

Cam stared at the screen in consternation and couldn't stifle his misgivings-- his concern for the rangers, his worry of a trap. They barely knew these guys.

_Don't worry,_ Hunter snapped. _We're here to help, whether _you_ believe us or not._

The anger was expected, Cam supposed, but he could feel the hurt, too. He winced, then glared down at his hands, quickly thinking.

_A little privacy please? And I'll believe that after you stop trying to kill us._

Hunter paused, the dark, brooding kind interlaced with shame and guilt. Cam didn't want to know. Didn't want to be that involved with the lamia any further.

_I'm bringing down the shard,_ Blake sent as he opened the basement door.

Despite the crystal, Cam couldn't feel Blake's emotions as clearly as Hunter's. He wondered if Blake had been able to hear their exchange.

_I don't think he did,_ Hunter responded with mixed emotions. _But none of us could talk to each other privately earlier._

Cam tried to block the tangle of feelings in Hunter, too caught up in his own as Blake came down the stairs after being accepted by the wards. Both of them could just walk right in now, could--

_We're not going to murder you in your sleep, _Hunter snarled, fury overshadowing his other emotions. _You are one vindictive little asshole, you know that?_

Cam felt his face flush and gritted his teeth. _Don't even go there. I'm not the one who was about to kill an innocent man for revenge._

_We were wrong. We apologized. Your father accepted. We're trying to make up for what we did, and even Shane is willing to give us a chance because what's going on is bigger than all--_

_I must have missed the macho bonding session while I was asleep, _Cam hurled back.

Blake hesitated at the foot of the stairs, so Cam spun his chair around and held out a hand.

"If the rangers need help, you should hurry," he said rigidly.

"Right."

Blake eyed him, but easily dropped the shard into Cam's palm before bounding back up the stairs.

Power flooded through Cam when the Gem touched his skin and he was suddenly aware of so much more-- Hunter pushing angrily through the alley door, Blake close on his heels, the other rangers farther away but present.

_Vexacus isn't just kidnapping humans. _Blake sent as he and Hunter streaked to the financial district. _He grabbed three witches and a shapeshifter, too. Shane asked for back-up because one of the witches is resisting the spell Vexacus used and things are going to get ugly--_

The fact that Blake was able to inform him of all this en route and without static during streaking made Cam admit that the telepathy was probably more reliable than the communicators. He studied the shard in his hand as he turned around again, running his finger over the milky-white facets.

_Shane? Tori? Dustin? _He sent out, placing the shard against his arm as he resumed typing. _What's your status?_

_Cam? How are you feeling? _

Tori was the breaking waves of the ocean, a cool mist on the wind, her happiness coming through loud and clear once she focused on him. Along with a twinge of something like jealousy from Blake. Cam rolled his eyes and felt an echo of it in Hunter.

_Dude, we thought you were, like, dead, _Dustin sent excitedly. His presence was murkier than the rest, like his thoughts were under a blanket of fallen leaves and moss, burrowed in the dirt.

_I'm fine,_ Cam sent, tone dry. He wondered how they perceived his presence.

A wisp of thought came from Hunter, _Barbed wire._

_Vexacus is headed towards the dock. That witch isn't going to stay quiet for much longer. She's too powerful,_ Shane reported, a brushfire of rollicking flames, then asked with frustration, _Are we still going with the whole non-engagement plan?_

Cam glanced up at his father, who had been observing him quietly the entire time, and briefly filled him in on the situation.

"We need to find out where the hostages are being taken--" The elder Watanabe said, and Cam finished the thought.

"But we can't risk exposure. Right."

_Engage,_ Cam thought at the rangers, mouth tight.

Their elation and grim determination was overwhelming as they ambushed Vexacus and his gang. Taken by surprise, Cam tamped down brutally on his own thoughts, drawing on every meditation technique he could think of and visualizing shutters being battered by a storm, shut tight, keeping everything out. The intensity of the others diminished.

So, visualization techniques would help with controlling their new powers. Good to know.

_Over-achiever,_ Hunter thought with cynical mirth, despite his general feelings of discontent towards Cam. Although, he was punching someone out as he did it, so Cam merely raised an eyebrow.

Cam let his shutters ease open enough to respond,

_At least one of us is thinking of long term effects._

_The rest of us talked about it earlier. You must have missed the memo while you--_

The floor dropped out from underneath Cam. He flailed in the chair, grabbing the armrests as his head spun.

"Cameron?" His father asked in concern.

_Hunter!_ Blake's fear, anxiety.

_Oh shit-- _Dustin panicked and dodged.

_--not again-- _Shane grimly stepped up.

_Blake! _Tori was moving into a defensive--

Cam wanted to ask what was going on, but he already knew. He'd felt the spell like it had hit between his own shoulder blades.

Dark energy, black electricity threading into Hunter's jagged bright lightning, and Cam pulled away from the Gem shard, trying to clear his own head, but the shard was glowing--

Glowing green--

_Hunter, it's me! It's Blake! _Blake was shouting, pushing memories at his brother. Flashes of them training in a field, their parents, Sensei Omino--

Cam breathed in through his nose, deep breaths. Calming. Calm.

The blackness in Hunter's mind was pushed back for a moment. He recognized Blake. He--

The darkness surged back, the spell winding tighter around Hunter--

_Hunter!_

Blake's desperation was spreading. The other rangers were fighting-- Vexacus. Shouting, but Cam couldn't hear them, couldn't make out their words--

He was drowning in-- Hunter was--

Hunter was still weak from defending Ops, from the weeks of withdrawal. His powers were lamia, not warlock like the rest of them. His defenses had slipped, and the spell was worming in deeper--

Hesitating, Cam clutched the Gem shard tight in his hand, then let his own defenses lower. Reached out to touch the thundering storm clouds--

It was worse than the previous night. His heart was racing faster, surging with adrenaline and-- The terrible feeling of connection, of absorption, of not knowing which thoughts were his own in this morass--

Memories swirled past, impressions of smells and sights and fleeting emotions. He was losing himself so easily, pulled down by old hurts and grief, of being abandoned, not remembering his mother's face, wondering why his parents had given him up, wanting to be loved and wondering what was wrong with him, the shock of betrayal, of being cast aside, of losing the family he'd finally found but having Blake--

But Blake had betrayed him now, betrayed the bonds of family and trust and sided against him, with these people he'd just met, with this girl--

Pain shot through Cam's palm, pulled him back.

The thoughts were Hunter's. Hunter was--

Enraged, but not-- This was forced anger, someone dredging up all his past hurts, all the rage he carried in him, and making him feel it. Manipulating him--

_This isn't you,_ Cam told Hunter. Pushed it into the cracks Blake's onslaught had created in the spell. Tried to pull Hunter's tattered defenses back together. _This isn't you._

_Bro! _Blake was there, grabbing Hunter's uniform front. Anchoring him to the present, and to the truth. _You're Hunter. You're my brother. C'mon, man, don't leave me!_

The storm swelled, raged over them both--

Cam could feel when Hunter broke through the spell's dark web, could feel the blackness receding from the other man's mind.

He forced his hand to uncurl, to place the shard on the computer desk. Little smudges of blood were on the edges. He stared at his unblemished palm, chest heaving like he'd been the one fighting.

What had he been thinking? He'd just-- To Hunter-- He'd seen--

"Which way do I go, Sensei?" Dustin's voice, but thankfully not in his head.

Taking a shaky breath, Cam looked around.

He'd lost time, a detached part of his mind noted. That was happening to him too often lately.

His father was typing at one of the other computers, communicator next to his side as Dustin's voice came through the tinny speakers.

"If you take the next left, you will reach the boy's home," his father said calmly, paws hitting the keys at a slow pace.

Hostages to return home, memories to be wiped. Right. Cam cleared his throat and pulled himself together. His father tilted his tiny head at him, but said nothing. With only the slightest hesitance, Cam picked the Gem shard up again.

_Shane?_ He projected out, wanting a status report.

_We kicked ass and saved the day. Hunter's Good Hunter again. Where did you go?_

The mental communication was faster than the communicators, a bombardment of impressions and thoughts. At least Cam couldn't really tell what the other rangers were thinking unless he focused on them. Not like with--

_I was right here,_ he sent briskly. _Do you need to return to ops or are you going to continue patrol?_

_I think we're done for the night,_ Tori interjected. _Once we get everyone tucked in, we're heading back._

Of course Hunter reached the dojo first, as Blake went to help with the freed hostages. It was one of those nights.

Cam felt him enter through the alley door, then heard the basement door open. He couldn't stop himself from turning his head, watching Hunter descend the stairs. He met Hunter's blue gaze with what he hoped was a neutral expression.

Glancing at the elder Watanabe's back, Hunter just nodded at them and went to lounge on the futon, long legs splayed in front of him. He looked exhausted, his thoughts barely there as his eyes drifted shut.

_I _am_ exhausted._

Cam quirked an eyebrow and pretended to focus on his database again. His father continued to direct the rangers over the communicators, which they'd apparently taken with them despite being enamored with their new powers. Although from the sound of it, they'd merely forgotten them in their uniforms. He'd have to talk to them about why they shouldn't adopt new procedures without proper exigency planning.

_Don't you mean lecture?_

_Go away._

Cam glanced at the futon to glare, but Hunter's eyes were closed and his tall frame was spread out over the cushion. Quickly looking away again, Cam was mortified when the image of Hunter's black uniform stretched across the toned muscles of his thighs refused to leave his thoughts. The more he tried not to focus on it, the sharper it became.

Closing his eyes for a brief second, he imagined slamming a door on Hunter's smug face and grinned at the snort that produced from the futon.

_Over-achiever, _Hunter mocked, but not maliciously. Cam rolled his eyes.

_Get a vocabulary._

_After someone takes the Kick Me sign off my back._

_Maybe you should have listened to your brother instead of volunteering to be cannon fodder, _he sent caustically.

_Maybe,_ Hunter admitted, surprising Cam. _What? I can admit when I'm wrong. Might suck, but it's the truth._

_I can't, _Cam thought involuntarily, then immediately clamped down on his emotions. Dammit. He needed to get his focus back. This lack of control was unacceptable.

_I kinda took you for that type._

He didn't like this odd connection with Hunter, and didn't know why the lamia wasn't fighting it tooth and nail, too. But he'd been deeper into Hunter's thoughts than he had ever wanted to go. He had to admit that this wasn't an elaborate plan. Hunter probably wasn't even capable of deception that deep, but--

_I don't know if I should be insulted or not._

But Cam wasn't going to apologize for having a well-developed survival instinct.

_Why am I not surprised?_

Cam hung a huge Do Not Disturb sign on his mental door. Hunter snorted again.

_I can't help it if it works both ways. But… Thanks. For earlier._

Fingers frozen over his keyboard, Cam took in a slow breath. Hunter was watching him from the futon, sprawled in Cam's periphery. He couldn't-- Not now--

_I know, Cam. I just wanted to say it once. Chill._

Focusing on his tracking program, he tried to lose himself in the code. Hunter rested his head against the back of the futon and shut his eyes again.

His father didn't say anything during the entire silent exchange, no doubt sensing something was going on if only because of Cam's body language. But then, his father didn't suggest Cam take over giving the directions either.

Which was probably a good thing. There were tremors running through Cam's hands.

The other rangers straggled not long after, thankfully none the worse for wear. It looked like Hunter had taken the most damage. After a moment of thought, Cam slipped the Gem shard into the locked drawer of his computer hutch. He'd move it to the safe later.

Without the shard, he knew the rangers were there, but he had more distance. He could breathe. Even if he could hear Hunter's--

He spun his chair around, comforted by the sight of the three rangers going through their usual post-patrol routine at the weapons table.

"So," he said out loud for his father's benefit. "I think we can safely say that Lothor's activities in the city are escalating."

Shane looked rueful. "Escalation's too nice a term, man. The streets are crawling with his people, and it was a different general who hit Hunter with that berserk whammy spell thing while Vexacus tried to kill us. Choobo, I think. Chew toy. Whatever."

"Yeah," Dustin chimed in glumly. "And we still don't know where he's taking all the people he kidnaps. If they're still alive."

Arching an eyebrow at the familiar name, Cam made a note to research Choobo's latest activities. That spell had been directed more toward mind control than destructive offense, and that wasn't a skill to underestimate. Three generals. Great.

Cam frowned when Blake glanced at Hunter, who still had his eyes closed and might've been asleep, if it wasn't for his racing thoughts.

"Tell us what?" Cam asked warily.

Blake's eyes widened as they flickered to him and the other three rangers looked confused, but Hunter just sighed, looking over at Cam.

"Choobo. When we were at his club the one time, we overheard Lothor talking about the guy and some high-security place, sending him more people." Hunter grimaced. "Lothor said he was a manager for one of his other clubs, so I didn't think to pay attention at the time."

Blake nodded ruefully. "I didn't either, but I think he called the club 'Vertigo'?"

The information connected some dots from the intel Cam had gotten the day before. It hadn't looked pretty before, but now it was just ugly.

"What intel?" Hunter groused, crossing his arms over his chest.

Shane spoke before Cam could respond. "Okay, seriously, you two. What's going on? The rest of us can't 'talk' without everyone hearing."

"Nothing," Cam and Hunter said simultaneously, then glared at each other.

"Both of you were in contact with the crystal when all this psychic stuff happened," Tori pointed out, a thoughtful look on her face. "It might have affected you differently than us."

"I wasn't in contact with it," Cam said shortly. "I didn't even know he had it."

"Your magic did act as catalyst, son," his father considered at his elbow.

Cam didn't know if the defensiveness he was feeling was from himself or Hunter, but he waved them off.

"We'll play with the new powers tomorrow. Right now we have other concerns. Namely the fact that, if Hunter and Blake are correct, then Lothor probably is conducting experiments on humans and nightworlders, and he's amassing an army in Blue Bay Harbor while he does it."

That got their attention.

"What do you mean?" Tori frowned.

Cam's expression was grim. "We know that Lothor's been recruiting from other cities, importing gangs." The rangers nodded. "He's obsessed with power. If what I've heard is correct, then he's set up a remote lab trying to find a way of draining other nightworlders of their powers instead of just killing them. Powerful nightworlders have disappeared occasionally over the years, but there's been a sharp increase recently. People are getting nervous."

Hunter might have picked up Cam's thoughts, or just made the connection himself.

"Sensei Omino," he said softly.

Cam nodded gravely. "Rangers all over the continent have been reported as missing or killed in record numbers. Sensei Omino was listed almost a year ago, but the mysterious disappearances go back far longer. We lead risky lives, but this is too coincidental even for the nightworld. The Council is opening an investigation--"

"Vexacus was headed for the docks," Dustin said suddenly. The rest of them stopped to stare. "That's where we've stopped the most kidnapping attempts, right? We've had the warehouses staked out for weeks. Dudes, it's out on the ocean. They need boats to get there. We just need to watch which boats leave the harbor and go from there."

"You're making sense," Shane said, impressed. "That's a first."

"I'm not dumb, dude," Dustin frowned.

"It may not necessarily be on the ocean," Cam interrupted the burgeoning argument thoughtfully. "But the focus on the docks could imply water transportation. The merchandise the gangs have stolen could be moved that way, too. Watching the boat traffic might work--"

"If they're not using magic to cloak it," Hunter finished. Cam shot him a disdainful look at the interruption.

"So we watch the docks," Shane declared, happy to have a course of action. Never mind that it was what Cam had been telling him to do for the past three weeks.

"We shouldn't discount other options just yet, but I'll access DMV records for registrations and cross-reference them with the database, see if we get any hits," Cam said, already planning out what he'd need. "If they're smart, they would be using aliases or have fake papers, but it's a starting point."

"If they were smart, they wouldn't try to kidnap people at the same spots over and over," Tori pointed out.

"So maybe the gangs aren't as organized as Lothor would like us to think?" Cam suggested with a bit of vindictive satisfaction.

"That Zurgane guy's nuts," Hunter said. "And he's not very good at following orders."

An image of a snarling werewolf flashed in Cam's mind and he shook his head, blinking hard and earning odd looks from the rest of the team.

"For now," his father said in the lull. "I think it would be best if we all rested. Recent events have been draining, and we will be more effective after we have slept. Tomorrow we shall begin exploring your new powers and searching for leads. With Hunter and Blake assisting us now, we will be able to accomplish even more during patrols."

Shane and Dustin were up the stairs almost before his father finished speaking.

"Good plan, Sensei!"

"Dude, we can finish the latest season on 2k6 before we have to crash."

"If you're player stops sucking, yeah--"

"I maxed my stats! My dude is sick, man!"

Cam watched them go with a feeling of doom. The fate of the city rested on the shoulders of video-game-playing, English-language-butchering, extreme-sports-junky college freshmen. At least Tori wasn't--

He turned in time to see Blake and Tori catch each other's eyes. Then Blake offered to walk her to her van, and they both grinned shyly. He would have called it cute if Tori wasn't like a sister to him.

_Stay outta trouble, kids,_ Hunter sent at them while yawning, still slumped on the futon.

Tori gave him an impudent look. _Same to you._

Hunter grinned as she and Blake walked up the stairs, then stood to remove his jerkin.

_I wonder if she knows how many ways that could be taken?_ He mused, tugging off his gauntlets.

_She probably knows more than you can think of,_ Cam sent blandly, spinning around to his keyboard.

Hunter snorted, then yawned again.

Cam rolled his eyes then echoed the yawn. He rubbed his face in frustration because he'd woken up not even five hours ago after sleeping for eighteen.

_You were seriously comatose, _Hunter sent, coming to stand behind his chair.

_How long did _you_ sleep today? _Cam asked wearily, because Hunter obviously wasn't leaving any time soon.

The image of Hunter bleeding from his pores rose unbidden, and Cam could feel him wince.

_Not my best moment, but I'm feeling better. Your dad thinks it was the crystal again. The butcher's delivery came today. Could go for a really rare steak right now._

Cam couldn't help thinking of how Hunter had looked the night before-- Fangs bared, striking at his throat, the fear it caused. The panic. His strength as he held Cam by the neck--

The feel of his skin under Cam's fingers. The shocking heat of it. Solid and hot and sweaty as they struggled--

_Didn't figure you as the rough type,_ Hunter smirked. _Demanding and controlling, yes. Kinky, though? I think I like those kinds of surprises._

Cam's cheeks flushed. This stupid attraction was bad enough when Hunter couldn't hear his every thought. Today had been hell, he was probably still in shock over having his mind connected to five other people, and the one person he couldn't seem to block out was thinking of--

Hunter's hands had cradled his head gently-- Cam had leaned into his touch, let himself be held in his exhaustion, let his guard down--

Rolling away from his desk, narrowly missing Hunter's toes, Cam glared up at the blonde.

"Shouldn't you go back to bed?" He demanded, gripping his chair's armrests until his knuckles were white.

"Shouldn't you?" Hunter asked in a bored tone, crossing his arms.

"I shall be retiring for the night, Cameron," his father said from the computer hutch behind them, causing Cam to stand up quickly. "Perhaps you should do the same?"

He'd forgotten his father was in the room. One more pitfall of this telepathy. He could feel Hunter's amusement.

_At least I'm not letting myself get distracted in the middle of a battle,_ he sent archly.

_That's low._

"Night, Dad," Cam said out loud. "I'll sleep down here tonight."

If his father expected that, he didn't comment. Of course, he could probably tell that Cam and Hunter were communicating silently, and he didn't mention that either.

They were good at not talking about things.

"Goodnight, Sensei," Hunter said respectfully.

His father crawled into the tube network, headed for his habitat upstairs since the cold of the basement really wasn't kind to his small bones now. Cam sighed and looked deliberately at Hunter, waiting for him to tire of the game and leave.

There was a moment of silence while they stared at each other with just the whir of the air conditioning units in the background, and in it, Cam learned that Hunter thought he looked better without the glasses, when Hunter could see his eyes like during the fight.

Cam gritted his teeth. His night had been one long emotional roller coaster. Or train wreck…

His stomach growled loudly. He'd been ignoring it as long as he could.

"I make some mean scrambled eggs," Hunter said out loud.

Cam honestly debated telling Hunter no and eating the power bar in his desk so he could start working again. Did he really want to encourage this-- thing between them? He was tired, maybe even a little vulnerable at the moment. Could Hunter sense that?

Could they be friends with this awareness?

"Just breakfast, and I promise not to ravish you on the table," Hunter grinned, for once not taking offense.

Cam glared, but they both knew he'd given in.

He followed Hunter up to the dojo kitchen, which was actually stocked better than the apartment kitchen because Cam used it more often. When Hunter started rummaging through drawers at random, Cam pulled out the pans and spatulas, motioning for the blonde to get the fridge.

If it seemed like Hunter was going to make too much, Cam didn't protest because Blake came in from the alley, no longer setting off the ward alarms but making a small shiver cross Cam's skin.

"Hey, eggs. Sweet." Blake grabbed the bread and started making toast.

Starting to feel light-headed, Cam went to sit at the small table tucked in the corner.

_How long has it been since you ate?_ Hunter asked rhetorically.

Cam ignored him.

"We should probably start looking for our own place if we're sticking around," Blake said as he worked. "Dustin was just saying that Storm Chargers is hiring."

"Maybe his boss would let us store the bikes there. Gotta be better than the back of the truck--"

The entire scene was surreal. Cam was sitting in his kitchen, having breakfast with two people who, by all rights, should have been his enemies (had been, as of three days ago), but instead he had a psychic bond with them and his three rookie rangers, while his father was still a guinea pig and his psychotic uncle was kidnapping people off the streets to use in heinous experiments as his gangs of thugs tried to turn the city inside out every night--

Hunter put a plate of eggs and toast in front of him. "Stop thinking. Eat."

Cam bristled at the patronizing tone, but his stomach was hurting so he contented himself with neatly working through the mound of eggs. Blake was wolfing his down like they were trying to run away, thoughts still a murky haze Cam couldn't really distinguish, while Hunter lounged against the counter with a cup of cow's blood.

_I'm working my way up to solid food,_ the lamia thought with a mental shrug.

_Why aren't you freaking out?_ Cam asked before he had processed the thought completely. He paused from eating, glancing at Hunter and feeling like an idiot for the admission.

_Shit happens. Adapt or die. _Hunter shrugged again, pose still casual even as he looked away from Cam's gaze. _But honestly, you didn't see Blake talking me down when I woke up this afternoon, so yeah. Who says I'm not freaking?_

Horrible crushing guilt and shame-- _I punched Blake I drank human blood I_-- Panic at the loss of control. Aching need for someone to tell him he wasn't a monster. Invasion of his thoughts, his privacy, he didn't want anyone to see--

Hunter let the emotions surface for a moment, then pushed them back down.

_At least we're all in this together, right? _He met Cam's eyes again. _We've got friends to watch our backs now._

Cam resumed eating, feeling indescribable. Blake had studiously avoided watching them while they were conversing privately, and Cam wondered what he could sense.

When he was finished, Cam took his plate to the sink and rinsed it. He was dead on his feet, and he hadn't been awake long at all. Maybe he'd go over the security systems before he went to bed, just to check the electronic components for wear and damage. There was so much to do--

_Dude, just go to bed already. I don't want to be kept up all night with your ulcers for company._

First thing tomorrow, he'd work on his mental shielding. He was a trained ninja warlock. It shouldn't be too hard to hide his thoughts from one nosy lamia.

The warmth of Hunter's amusement lingered in his mind as Cam said goodnight aloud and headed back down to Ops. Blake gave him a look that Cam didn't feel like decoding, but as long as the younger Bradley brother wasn't directing his thoughts at Cam, he could be as strange as he wanted.

Hunter started loading the dishwasher, thinking absently about the house they grew up in. His dad's laughter. It was a quiet ache in Cam's mind.

Cam changed for bed and crawled in, staring at the ceiling, knowing when Hunter and Blake took turns in the guest bathroom above him, talking softly to each other about the patrol. Knowing when Hunter slid between the well-worn sheets, and curled on to his side, how he usually slept.

Friends to watch their backs now? He was so tired of being alone.

Maybe the day wasn't a total train wreck. More like a fender bender, or a broken limb.

_Sleep well,_ he sent softly, almost hoping Hunter wouldn't sense it.

_You too,_ Hunter replied.

Cam didn't expect to be able to sleep, but he drifted off as soon as he closed his eyes.

* * *

End "Careful, Boy. Careful." Continued in "Baby's First Coffin."

* * *

Another lonely pacifist, dying in the sun  
I will not watch this  
I will not watch this all come down  
Careful, boy.  
Careful. 

_I never thought that you could've been a monster_

Finch-- Worms of the Earth


End file.
